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Who do you got as the Reds starting rotation for opening day?

With this sudden emergence of Cueto, what do you have as the Reds starting rotation for opening day right now?

Not so much who you WANT it to be but rather who you THINK it will be? Though you can post the former too if you'd like.

I'm going to go with...

Harang
Arroyo
Belisle
Fogg
Cueto

That could change, but I just don't see room for Volquez if Cueto is as advertised and I don't see the Reds moving Fogg to long relief (even though I think that'd be the way to go) or the pen. I think Maloney is way out of the picture at this point and I can't imagine Homer is in the rotation come opening day. Affeldt I can't imagine being in there either.

If I could have it my way, I'd move Cueto up to the 4 spot and Volquez at the 5 spot.

To take things further, what do you think happens in 2009? I know a ton can happen in between now and then and it's totally hypothetical. Let's assume that Cueto/Volquez are at or around league average or project to be for 2009. Let's say Belisle's year is around league average as well. Do you think Homer/Maloney get traded? Or Homer comes up from AAA in the pen? Is Belisle released? Someone gets traded? What do you think happens? There are a lot of arms, which is a good thing...but it may be hard to decide what to do with all of them a yaer from now.

Re: Who do you got as the Reds starting rotation for opening day?

Originally Posted by PuffyPig

I"m with OBM on both accounts.

IMO it's the best rotation possible for the Reds - the one that will give the Reds the best chance of winning. Volquez is primed for a breakout, I'm already on record as stating I think he'll be the Reds second best starter behind Harang by the end of the year. I think he's going to give us 180 innings of sub 4.00 ERA ball and strikeout roughly 8.0 batters per nine innings. Johnny Cueto - coming into the spring, I thought Cueto was a longshot to make this team. Then Dusty Baker started praising Cueto and made the comment that some of the young pitchers could make the team out of the bullpen as opposed to being sent to AAA Louisville. That is when I started thinking Cueto would make the team...as a reliever and then eased into the rotation. Now, after recent performances by Cueto and further praise from basically everyone who has seen him pitch this spring, it really wouldn't surprise me at all if Cueto is in the Opening Day rotation behind Volquez, hopefully. Send Homer Bailey to Louisville for more seasoning and if he dominates, call him up in the summer if Belisle is struggling.

I'm not sure if Homer will make the team or Volquez either. Just a hunch. As cautious as Krivsky is about youngsters (remember Votto nearly rotted in the minors last year), Cueto may not even make it, so Volquez is in danger of starting there too.

As for trading for Volquez, they also signed Fogg so he's a lock IMHO. Remember, after Wayne signed Stanton, we saw him often. It was the same with Majewski until we learned he was hurt. And anyone remember those duds he acquired and marched out to the mound for at least 4 starts in 2006 (er...Joe Mays, etc)? I have a feeling Volquez is for the future.

Re: Who do you got as the Reds starting rotation for opening day?

Aaron Harang
Bronson Arroyo
Johnny Cueto
Matt Belisle
Edinson Volquez

It is a tough call though. I see Cueto making it too difficult to keep him out of the rotation. Barring an injury, I also see Belisle, Volquez, Fogg, and perhaps Affeldt competing for the last two spots. Hopefully, Belisle and Volquez pitch too well for the Reds to justify keeping Fogg in the rotation. If Fogg doesn't make it, I can see him moved to some team needing an emergency filler. If Volquez doesn't pitch well enough, I can see the Reds sending him down briefly until someone else falters or is injured.

Re: Who do you got as the Reds starting rotation for opening day?

Harang, Arroyo, Belisle and Fogg are pretty much givens.

Cueto would seem to have grabbed the lead for the last slot yesterday, but it's still early and I expect Mr. Volquez will be making his case soon enough. Mr. Bailey can get in there as well, but my theory is he needs to do so on Monday (and, yes, I think that's totally unfair).

I mentioned this in the game thread, but I expect K/BB is the stat that Baker and Pole are paying strict attention to with these kids. Right now here's where they stand:

Re: Who do you got as the Reds starting rotation for opening day?

Just going on gut instinct

Harang
Arroyo
Belisle
Cueto
Fogg/Affeldt

I think Belisle because I think they want him to sink or swim and putting him in that #3 spot will be a good way to find that out. Cueto I put in at 4 because I don't think they want him going back and forth betwen the bullpen and the rotation and skipping days where there's a rainout or a day off. Fogg/Affeldt are vets so they can probably handle the back and forth and start skipping better than Cueto.I think they want Affeldt to make the rotation because he's a lefty but Fogg has more experience and success starting than Affeldt does.

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